Monday, May 20, 2013

Benefits of Being a Taxi Driver in Tampa Bay

By Danielle Antosz

People become taxi drivers for many different reasons. No one is born knowing they want to be a taxi driver, usually circumstances push them to the job. With that being said, there are a lot of perks of being a taxi driver, and most of us love what we do. The hours are long, and slow shifts are tedious, but there is a reason we do it year after year. If you are considering becoming a Tampa taxi driver, here are a few things you can look forward to.

Be your own Boss!
Starting a business is expensive – you have to pay for overhead, taxes, licenses, equipment, and product. If you are looking for an easy way to be your own boss, taxi driving is a great place to start!

Your employment situation can vary based upon how your company is set up, but most Tampa taxi drivers rent their car from a taxi company or they own their own car and pay for dispatches from a company. There is no boss leaning over your shoulder all shift, and once you cover your fees the rest of the profit is yours. Which means the harder you work, the more money you make. And, unlike other startup businesses, the startup costs are relatively low.

Every Day is Payday
Instead of waiting for payday, you get to take home cold, hard cash after every shift. No more extreme budgeting to make sure you can last to next payday. However, you also have to budget carefully so you can pay big bills like rent, utilities, etc.

Flexible Scheduling
To make good money, you do have to work long hours. But being able to change your schedule to fit your life is really convenient. You might not get paid time off, but you are able to move your schedule around so you can be there when your family needs you.

Never a Dull Moment
While being a Tampa taxi driver might not be glamorous, it is nothing if not interesting. You get to meet people from all over the world and in all walks of life. From travelers heading to Tampa Airport to catch a flight, to business people and athletes, you get to meet a lot of interesting people driving a taxi. If you love meeting and talking to people, driving a taxi can be a fun, rewarding job.

Driving a taxi is hard work to be sure. The hours are long, some of your most profitable days will be holidays, and some customers are downright rude. But there are not many jobs that are as profitable or as interesting as driving a taxi that also require no formal education and little monetary investment. Whether you are a new parent, trying to put yourself through school, or tired of making money for someone else driving a Tampa taxi is an exciting, fun way to make the money you need.

Part time taxi dispatcher wanted, work from home and make daily cash.Low call volumemust have experience, be honest, reliable and have PC / laptop at homeGreat gig for staying at home mom with previous taxi dispatching experience in South Pinellas County

By far, Independent Taxi is the best taxi company to work for in southern Pinellas County in areas of Pinellas Park and St Petersburg, however, to take full advantage of what they offer, you should have at least 2-3 years of experience, ability to work on the radio and have some of your own customers to start with.I return, they offer steady clientele, possibility for advancement , chance to become owner / share holder in company which comes with right to hire your own drivers and more.I think Independent Taxi is an example, how taxi company should be structured and work in Southern Florida.....

If you looking for work as a taxi driver, be careful out there.United taxi of Clearwater is biggest illegal outfit in entire state of Florida.They don't have St Pete city stickers, half of their cabs are not commercially insured and most of their drivers don't have background checks, not to mention that none of United Taxi drivers has been drug tested, but they still charge leases like they were legal taxi operators.Shane on United taxi cab.United taxi is worse than uber

Cab driving is a constant hustle, to the guy who said we make $5 an hour, either u never drove a cab, or you don't hustle! I've driven a taxi in multiple states and have made good money by getting to know areas and passing out my cards to customers. I love being a cabbie and give back advice to new drivers as it was done for me when I started in '97.

to "full of shit" guy, -actually United in Clearwater is one of the best cab companies I have ever worked for, better than Bats Taxi, United of Tampa, Yellow Cab in Pinellas and Mears of OrlandoI wish they had Dart contract though.

to signature car service driver from Pasco, Lets assume that your statement is honest and correctif you make 5-600 a week on "good week" for 70-80-90 hours of work, dealing with drunks, hookers, crack heads and other dimwits who often treat you like a crap and you "glorify" cab driving as a profession, it says something about you.......what? figure out for yourself....

I worked for Singature Car Service they treat the drivers like garbage their cars are old recycled gas guzzling police cars and most of the calls you get are $5 trips to publix that are 7 to 9 miles away each time. Unless you are part of the family you are wasting your time. They go through drivers week after week. They take a percentage of your book for admin fees and other fees as well as the 50%, after you get done pumping gas in that old pig and spending $5 a day on a car wash and paying their fees your lucky to make $5 an hour. Been there done it. Dispatch gives good calls to a select few, you will not be one of them.

I also worked for signature. The above two posters describe Signature perfectly. It's a corrupt company run by a corrupt family. Thankfully recent changes to the FLSA, seen here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/workers/Misclassification/AI-2015_1.htm may make it very hard for them to continue with their exploitative business model. We shall see.

By far, the best cab company to drive for in St Pete and Pinellas county is a Discount Taxi !!!low lease, honest dispatching, 24 hour cabs, all cabs are fully insured and licensed by City of St Petersburg, Pinellas county and State of Florida.If interested? plz text Albert the owner at 727-490-9164 texts only NO PHONE CALLS plz...or if you like, please fill application online at:

"What a cab driver will do to make a living is beyond what most people can handle or comprehend. One thing we do is go into very bad areas of town and pretend it is normal. At least I still think it is normal. Like the Pakistani store owner who sells smokes, beer, lotto tickets and blunts to the people who walk in his door while all the time hoping he doesn't get shot, you begin to think this is normal. I got this call about 4 in the morning today. Things got a little weird. Not to bad, but not what I was expecting.........."﻿

"There’s undoubtedly something romantic about driving a taxi: working your own hours in your own way, cruising the city streets instead of being anchored to a desk, picking up total strangers and never knowing where you might take them. And then there’s the economic reality. In Austin, cab drivers earn, on average, just $2.75 an hour after deductions for insurance, taxes and paying one of the city’s three cab companies for the privilege of driving their cars. Austin cabbies have brutally long hours—many work 12- to 14-hour shifts, seven days a week, 50-plus weeks a year—and as independent contractors, they have little job security, no unemployment benefits and no employer-provided retirement or health insurance."

The good stuff is great! The hours are long but it's a lifestyle and that isn't the worst part. It's being treated like garbage and having to take it, that sucks. Then if you finally have had enough and talk back...opps, they call on you and you have a court date. In the court room, it's a farce where you'll be guilty, so pay up AND apologize (your honor) LOL. Chicago cabbie here, seen it all, don't wanna see it again, but I will of course, so I listen to smooth jazz and chill.

All these questions and answers but no one has posted how you start up your OWN taxi service using your own car??? What license, city, state, etc. do you need? What do you need to drop people off at the airports?? Does anybody out there have these answers...everybody doesn't want to work for someone else.

I've worked for Independent in Sf.Pete..Disgudtingly old cars/not mechanicaly taken care of, on top of the fact they were 20plus year old gas guzzlin oil burning tank on wheels..and then the clientelle let's just say are not the best to make some money..lots a south side calls. I was more than once paid in change..including pennies!!!...and THEEEN I went to work for Bats...whaaat a world of difference..fuel efficient,well maintained late model Camrys and a 50/50 split, which I'm not sure you can get a fairer deal..never mind most of your buusiness being up and down the beautiful gulf coast with trips to hard rock and the airport and to and from the Trip..many nights ive gone home AFTER gas, which I never pumped more than 28 bux, with over 150 box...loved it!!

GEE.........you forgot to mention, that all those "late model Camrys" at Bats are at least 12-15 years old and there are only 5 of them in whole fleet......., rest of cars are gas guzzlers like in any other cab company in Tampa Bay, .....also, why I would split the meter 50/50 in season before expenses and listen to the boss to tell me when and where I can or can not drive/work..?the other problem with Bats, is that you have to get to St Pete Beach on your own just to be able to work.is Bats taxi that good as a company to work for?I don't know

I drive for Bats and will continue to do so for a long time. Autonomous work, good support from dispatch, no noise "breaker breaker" CHIPS style CB radio and the cars are clean and well maintained. Element of trust between company and driver which = a loyal partrnership. Sometimes slow sometimes outta the park busy.